When a Sudan Shriner says “It’s all about the children,” he and about 5,000 other members of the New Bern-based fraternal organization back it up.

There are 587 children from more than 40 Eastern North Carolina counties who receive free treatment and rehabilitation through Sudan at eight Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Those children symbolize why there is an annual Winter Ceremonial parade in New Bern. This year’s edition steps off and travels through downtown at noon.

Craven County has 48 patient children, who mostly ride to and from the hospitals on one of eight “Roadrunners” vans.

Craven’s youngsters include New Bern High junior Kyae Reh. The 18-year-old is a Karenni refugee from Burma, by way of 10 years in a Thailand refugee camp with his parents and four brothers and sisters.

Kyae Reh has undergone 16 appointments and surgery at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Greenville, S.C., for a severe case of scoliosis.

According to the National Scoliosis Foundation, it is a spinal deformity. In severe cases, such as Kyae Reh’s, it puts pressure on the heart, diminishes lung capacity and limits physical activity.

For Kyae Reh, it also caused a noticeable tilting of his head and impairment of his posture.

He said this week that before the Shriners Hospital surgery four years ago, he was in constant pain.

“The operation was life-saving,” said Helen Dawley, a member of Rhems Methodist Church and a friend of the family. “His internal organs were being squeezed.”

She said Kyae Reh and his family are among refugees who comprise about half of the congregation.

Today, Kyae Reh said he still goes for appointments with the Shriners doctors, but does not have the pain, is able to attend school and enjoy life with his brothers and sisters.

His father, Ku Reh, works at a local manufacturing job, a far cry from the family’s years in the Thailand camp.

Kyae Reh’s sister, 17-year-old Su Meh, also a New Bern High junior, said she and her brother were born in Burma and the other siblings were born in the camp. There are some family photos, with her and him as toddlers in their parents’ arms, standing in front of a grass hut in their homeland of Burma.

The Karenni families can chose to designate a last name. In the case of Ku Reh, his sons are all Reh, including Kyae, Boe and Soe. The girls are named Meh, including Su and Nga.

The family’s time was not easy before their relocation to America.

“They (refugees) were not allowed to go out (of the camps),” said Zo Than Pari, the case management coordinator for Interfaith Refugee Ministry in New Bern. “They could be arrested if they got out.”

Page 2 of 2 - She said the family made its way to freedom in New Bern through having a daughter who already lived here.

The family arrived in June 2009.

Pari said the paperwork and records are often sketchy. For instance, father Ku Reh was listed as being over age 65. But, she said it was obvious from looking at him that he was much younger.

After Kyae Reh’s surgery, his sister Su Meh said he spent at least a month in bed.

“My sister is a nurse and she said his mom (Nye Moe) took really good care of him and did a good job,” said Dawley.

There are Shrine Temples throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Germany, and Panama. Shriner’s Hospitals for Children has treated more than a million children throughout the years — ranging from orthopedic, burn injury, spinal deformities and injuries, lip and cleft pallet and brittle bone disease.

In 2013, new management procedural changes in new patients application resulted in a significant increase in patients. The Greenville unit saw a record number of new patients and performed a record number of surgical procedures.

On the web: Shrinershospitalsforchildren.com

Charlie Hall can be reached at 252-635-5667 or charlie.hall@newbernsj.com.